A Daedra's Best Friend
Background Quick Walkthrough # Find Barbas the Dog near Falkreath, the meat given to the Dragonborn by Lod is not necessary to lure him. # Follow Barbas to the shrine of Clavicus Vile in Haemar's Shame. Be prepared to fight a host of vampires and thralls once inside. Talk to the Daedra by activating the statue; choose "reunite the dog" as your wish. # Retrieve the Rueful Axe for Clavicus Vile in Rimerock Barrow. A named mage, Sebastian Lort, will need to be killed, but there is not much resistance otherwise. # Return to the shrine of Clavicus Vile. # Kill Barbas to keep the Rueful Axe OR refuse and wait until dialogue completes to retrieve Clavicus Vile's Masque (Daedra Artifact needed for achievement/Trophy). # The quest is over at this point, but the player still may return to Lod for a small reward (25 gold) by telling him "The dog was more trouble than he was worth". Notes * While following Barbas to the Shrine of Clavicus Vile, there will be several areas inhabited by enemies, including the ruins of Helgen. Barbas' A.I. may not be able to figure out how to reach these enemies, especially within the ruins, however if they are not killed, Barbas will not continue onward. The player may need to make significant detours to kill them and then wait for an hour, at which time Barbas will have either reset to waiting for the player or have already proceeded to the shrine. * The shrine is located within Haemar's Shame, in the event that the player didn't trek behind Barbas the entire way there. * Barbas acts like a war hound and is also considered an essential character, as he cannot be killed. This can be helpful for lower level players as not continuing on the quest after being asked to retrieve the Rueful Axe causes him to follow the player around everywhere and join in the player's combat. Enemies also tend to aggro on him, rather than the player or other followers, so he makes an excellent tank. *Unfortunately, Barbas will alert guards if he sees you breaking the law. When following, Barbas pushes your character around, even when mounted, occasionally pushing the player off of cliffs or into traps. In addition, it is nearly impossible to sneak effectively when Barbas is in your party. Players should keep these things in mind when choosing Barbas as a follower. * Barbas can also be a pain if you are playing a primarily sneak character, as he will bark and alert enemies. He can also make aiming an arrow difficult, as he is almost constantly bumping into you and moving you around. However, you can still follow the above-mentioned point and use him as a tank. * Warning: If intending to unlock the trophy/achievement for obtaining 15 Daedric Artifacts; do not keep the Rueful Axe. * If Barbas suddenly fails to be with you at any point during this quest. Do not Panic. He will teleport in at the finale allowing you to finish. However, if you have lost him you will not be able to kill him with the Axe. Thus limiting you to saying 'No Deal' to Clavicus Vile. * There is no need to bring Barbas while retrieving the axe. If you ask him to wait, he will eventually go back to the shrine. You may then bring another follower, or retrieve the axe yourself. When you return to the shrine with the Daedra's coveted item, Barbas will be waiting just as you come out of the tunnel and into the room with Clavicus' statue. The quest will proceed as normal upon activating the statue, and you will still get the choice of whether or not to kill Barbas with the Rueful Axe. * Lod can be killed, and if he dies after finding Barbas but before speaking to Lod, you will have to either load a previous save before finding Barbas, or else you will not receive the reward. Bugs * If you address Barbas during the final dialogue, he does not join the shrine and you do not get the Masque. * Talking to Barbas for the first time while having cleared 49 dungeons will sometimes grant you Delver achievement Gallery TESV 2011-11-19 00-56-30-45.jpg|The Rueful Axe 2011-11-16 00005.jpg|The Masque of Clavicus Vile Category:Skyrim: Quests Category:Skyrim: Daedric Quests Category:Skyrim: Falkreath Quests Category:Daedric Quests